Cruel Reality
by Seif X
Summary: My very first fic! (FF6) What if General Leo hadn't died at the hands of Kefka? Shaping up to be a LONG story. Please R/R, and no flames please. First two chapters up.
1. Prologue/Chapter 1

Author's note: I own nothing. Well, I own some things, just not the characters in this story. They belong to Square.  
  
  
  
Prologue  
  
  
  
"Hate…Hate…HATE!"  
  
And then, before he knew it, the world around him turned blood red and slowly faded to black.  
  
Floating in and out of semi-consciousness, he was vaguely aware of the next few events. The screaming of men. The explosion of machines. The magical influence that enveloped the area like a blanket. The wild, maniacal laughter.  
  
Then, nothing.  
  
He heard faint, slow, groggy movement to the south and southeast of him. Sounds of worry. The occasional "You okay?".  
  
A voice traveled in his direction.  
  
"Look! Over there! Go check on him!"  
  
It was then that he heard a beautiful voice say to him, "Hey, you're going to be okay now. You're going to be just fine."  
  
He forced his eyes to open, and he saw…her. The girl. She was sitting next to him, holding his head in her lap, stroking his dirty blond hair, reassuring him. Or was she reassuring herself? He was in no state of mind to make such judgements. He was tired…  
  
He looked into her eyes and mustered all the energy he could to force his mouth to crack a smile, then he closed his eyes and let his head fall.  
  
  
  
1 Chapter 1  
  
It was nightfall when he opened his eyes. He sat up with a start, not recognizing his surroundings. He knew that he was in a bed somewhere. He heard the dull hum of propellers and machinery and immediately knew that he was on an aircraft of sorts. Definitely not a vessel belonging to the Empire, though. He was no engineer, but no Imperial craft would contain such lavish décor.  
  
Looking down, he noticed that he was completely naked. He noticed the scar on his left shoulder blade.  
  
Lucky for me that idiot's such a lousy aim, he thought. Otherwise that would have been the end of me.  
  
He looked around once again.  
  
How…how did I get here? Where am I? Have I been taken prisoner?  
  
His questions were answered just then when the door opened up.  
  
"You're awake!"  
  
He whirled suddenly to see who was speaking to him. He was completely caught off guard by who it was.  
  
It was the girl. Terra. The one who he had a rather intimate conversation with on their way towards finding the Cave of the Espers. What was she doing here though?  
  
"Terra, I…uh…"  
  
He looked down at his naked self and quickly reached for something to cover himself up with. He found the bedsheet. Unfortunately, it didn't quite hide all that he wanted it to.  
  
Terra smiled.  
  
"It's okay, really," she reassured him. "You've been out for about twelve hours now. We were beginning to think that you wouldn't wake up."  
  
He squinted his eyes, unsure of the situation.  
  
"We?"  
  
"Yes, all of us," Terra said. "We used some Cure spells on you and bought some potions to help you. You were in pretty bad shape."  
  
"I was?"  
  
"Yes, you were," Terra said, a worried look on her face. "Do you remember anything, anything at all?"  
  
"I…" he stammered. "I remember it all. But it's like it was a dream."  
  
Terra looked concerned.  
  
"A dream?" she asked. "Tell me about it."  
  
"I was in Thamasa, under the pretense that Emperor Gestahl wanted to end his war with the Espers," he started. "Then all of a sudden, Kefka and some Magitek soldiers appeared, and, and…"  
  
"Turned all the Espers that came out of the Sealed Gate into Magicite," Terra finished for him. "You weren't dreaming."  
  
"But there's more," he said. "I went to confront Kefka, but it was only his shadow there. Then the awful, awful truth hit me. Kefka told me that it was the Emperor's desire to collect Magicite, and that I was nothing more than a…a pawn. A means to an end."  
  
Terra went to embrace him, but he pushed her away.  
  
"To think that I swore my very life to him, only to have him use me like that!" he raged. "I cannot accept that!"  
  
Terra sat down on the edge of the bed.  
  
"What will you do?" she asked.  
  
"I don't know," he said. "I really don't know."  
  
"Join us," Terra said, rising from the bedside. "We're trying to make things right. Maybe you can find closure in all this. We're after Kefka and Gestahl too. It took you so long to realize that the Empire is evil; maybe now this will give you the reason you need to fight and uphold your morals."  
  
He sighed.  
  
"I don't know, Terra," he said. "I can't make any promises. Give me some time."  
  
"Okay," said Terra. "Until then, get some rest."  
  
And as quickly as she came, she left.  
  
He lay down and pulled the cover over him. He lay awake for a long time thinking about the events that had transpired.  
  
I'll get you for this, Kefka, he thought. I'll make you regret the day you were born! 


	2. Chapter 2

1 A/N: Nope, I still don't own 'em.  
  
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5 Chapter 2  
  
Terra shut the door gently on her way out of the former general's quarters. She was careful not to disturb the rest of the group, who were either resting peacefully (or not so peacefully) or on watch. She quickly shuffled through the casino-like interior of the world's only known airship, more affectionately known as Blackjack.  
  
Well, this is it, Terra thought. The Empire's finest warrior, right here among us. He would be a fool to try to return to the Empire and Gestahl. Surely he knows that. After all, Celes saw the light, as did I…  
  
"You're up late."  
  
Startled, Terra looked around to see who had broken up her thoughts. Her eyes fixated on the only other person in the room: Edgar, king of Figaro.  
  
Edgar was one of the good ones, Terra had decided. A self-proclaimed ladies' man, he had done little more than get on Terra's nerves when they had first met. However, she had found that beneath the regal exterior that he did his best to put forward lay a true gentleman, a real friend, and a heart of gold.  
  
Edgar smiled, rose from the table he was sitting at, stepped over to the next seat and pulled it out, indicating to Terra with a quick gesture of his hand that he wished for her to sit down.  
  
Without saying a word, Terra returned the smile, walked over to the seat, and sat down, crossing her legs in a ladylike fashion.  
  
Upon sitting down, Edgar leaned back in his chair and cast a furtive glance at the quarters that Terra had just exited. He wasted no time in saying what was on his mind.  
  
"So, how is he?"  
  
"He'll be okay," said Terra. "He's awake now, and more than a little confused. But I think that once he sorts everything out that's cluttering his head, he'll be just fine."  
  
Edgar nodded. He leaned forward, folding his hands on the table.  
  
"So, how did he react to the fact that he was betrayed?"  
  
Terra looked Edgar in the eye, piercing him with her gaze.  
  
"How would you feel if the only man you respected, the only man whose cause you believe in, and the man who practically raised you turned his back on you because he gave in to some foolish, selfish desire?" Terra asked. "How would you feel if you had everything ripped from you because you dared to have morals?"  
  
Tears started welling up in Terra's eyes, and she turned away from Edgar.  
  
"He didn't deserve that, Edgar," she sobbed. "A tender and noble man like that, tossed aside by Gestahl because he no longer fit the mold that the emperor had made for him."  
  
Edgar stood up and put a gentle hand on Terra's shoulder.  
  
"Terra, it's not his fault," Edgar said. "Everyone knows that Gestahl is corrupt; it just took him longer to realize it. If anything, you have Kefka to thank for part of that. Personally, I'm starting to think that a lot of what's happened to us wouldn't have happened if Kefka wouldn't have been made a general."  
  
"And now he and Gestahl have the Statues," Terra said with a sigh. "I don't know what we're going to be able to do in order to stop them."  
  
Edgar frowned. "Please don't be so despondent, Terra. It doesn't suit your beauty to see you so down like that."  
  
"I…I just don't know what we're going to do," said Terra. Then her face brightened slightly. "What about Celes? Does she have any ideas?"  
  
"Celes…" Edgar started.  
  
"…has her own problems to consider right now."  
  
Startled, Edgar and Terra looked up to see Locke standing outside a doorway.  
  
"Locke!" cried Terra. "How is Celes? Is she okay?"  
  
Locke scowled in the direction of the room he just exited. "She'll be a lot better after she's had some time to herself. My presence isn't helping matters any."  
  
Terra looked puzzled. "Why is that?"  
  
Locke frowned. "Let's just say that she still hasn't forgotten what happened at the Magitek Factory. She may have forgiven me, but she certainly hasn't forgotten."  
  
With that remark, Locke shuffled down the hallway, entered an empty chamber, and slammed the door behind him.  
  
Edgar looked at Terra. "Well, it looks as though we'll have to find some other way to devise a plan."  
  
Terra nodded thoughtfully, and then looked thoughtfully at the chamber at the very end of the hall.  
  
"He'll come around, won't he?" Terra asked. "I mean, if it's for the good of the world, if it gives him a reason to fight, won't he help us?"  
  
"Time can only tell," Edgar said. "Leave him alone for now; he's already got more than he can handle at this point." 


End file.
